Dogs Could Detect Breast Cancer

 Friday October 4, 2019

Dogs have a very sensitive sense of smell. By being trained, they are able to detect certain diseases, including breast cancer.

 

A new way to get tested

October is dedicated to the fight against breast cancer, in particular thanks to the 26th edition of the association "Le Cancer du Sein, Parlons-en!" Each year, women are educated and encouraged to get tested. Between 1998 and 2018, the number of breast cancer cases in France doubled reaching almost 60,000. Today it is the first female cancer.

While the gynecologist is usually the only way to screen for breast cancer, a new solution may soon emerge. Researchers say dogs' sense of smell can detect this cancer.

 

Dogs capable of detecting the disease

Research shows that dogs can detect many types of cancer in humans. Cancers leave specific traces, or olfactory marks, in the body and body secretions. Thus, cancer cells, as well as healthy cells affected by cancer, produce and release these peculiar smells.

Targeted training sessions allow dogs to be trained. They are then able to detect the smell of cancer. These volatile compounds are not perceptible by humans. The dog could, from a compress soaked in sweat, confirm the presence of cancer cells by insisting on a particular compress. In 2017, a Review carried out on 70 patients detected the disease 9 times out of 10 on the first pass and 10 times out of 10 on the second. This could prevent women from emitting radiation during mammograms.

 Stéphanie Haerts

Read also : Seniors: adopting a dog keeps a healthy heart

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